Putting the final score aside, which team looked the best out there — Indiana or Michigan?

They may have lost the football game, but Indiana did win the argument. In the 11 team league the Indiana football team is the 12th best. However, they did more than just scare a Michigan team that is obviously not as good as they might think they are. The Wolverines got lucky. To win the game they needed to have every imaginable lucky break, which included a bad call on the final drive for Indiana. A pick off by Donovan Warren was ruled an interception even though in the replays it looked as though receiver Damarlo Belcher was stripped of the ball by Warren after hitting the turf.

The defense for Michigan is still a question mark. So what do Greg Robinson and Rich Rodriguez have to do to get the defense improved before the Michigan State game?

Considering their talent, the Wolverine defense really should be a lot more physically imposing. The defense congratulated themselves for preventing the Hoosier offense from scoring a touchdown three times when Indiana had first downs and 10 inside Michigan’s 15 yard line. On all three occasions Indiana had to settle for a field goal. However Michigan State’s offense has more offensive weapons than the Hoosiers. If you provide a decent offense with that many opportunities in the red zone they are going to make a killing.

This year’s Michigan team already has more wins than the team from last year did all season. Is this statement a bigger one about this year’s 4-0 team or last year’s 3-9 club?

The difference is quite simple. This year’s team has a quarterback who can make plays. Last year’s team didn’t have one. If last year’s quarterback duo of Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet were playing, the team would be 2-2 right now. Having a confident quarterback does make all the difference in the world, even if he is a freshman.

With their win against Indiana, Michigan and head coach Rich Rodriguez surpassed their win total for last season. However, it didn’t come easy.

Late in the fourth quarter Tate Forcier, Michigan’s freshman quarterback, threw a touchdown pass of 26 yards to Martavious Odoms, sophomore receiver, to lift No. 23 ranked Michigan over Indiana 36-33.

In the post game press conference Rodriguez said what are these guys doing? That was a very tough battle. We didn’t play too well at times, but got a nice win. We have lots of things we need to work on.

Indiana got on the board first. On the Hoosiers first drive of the game, they gained twenty yards on an option pitch to the left and scored.

Twenty three seconds later Carlos Brown, senior tailback for Michigan, responded on a 61 yard screen pass for a touchdown. Brown made a leap to catch Forcier’s pass and then went untouched until he reached the end zone. In last week’s game versus East Michigan Brown had 187 yards, a career best, and a 90 yard touchdown.

The Michigan defense then held Indiana to 3 plays and out. Brown then scored again on a 41 yard run. Kevin Koger, the sophomore tight end, gave a solid block to pave the way for Brown, who wound up with 85 yards rushing for the game.

Two drives later the Hoosiers scored on a two play, 67 yard score. On the first play of the drive Tandon Doss caught a 56 yard pass. Then Willis got past the left side to score the touchdown.

After the two scores by Brown, Michigan was unable to get their offense going. They had back to back 3 play and out possessions.

Michigan committed a couple of turnovers which gave Indiana great field position during the second quarter.

Rodriquez said we had several unforced errors but still got the win. I am proud of our guys. All year we have talked about how we need to play each game for the full 60 minutes. We need to battle and that’s what we did.

Following a Zoltan Mesko punt that went out of bounds on the Hoosiers’ 41, Indiana was able to take advantage of their good field position. On nine plays the Hoosiers drove 52 yards. Michigan was able to hold Indiana to a field goal of 24 yards, which gave Indiana the lead at 17-14.

Forcier threw an interception on Michigan’s next drive, the second of his short career. While scrambling inside the pocket, he tried throwing the ball away. However Nicolas Slinger, defensive tackle, picked off Forcier’s short lob.

The turnover gave Indiana great field position and they drove to Michigan’s 3 yard line. The drive was capped off with a field goal from 20 yards and gave Indiana a 20-14 lead.

Forcier’s mediocre performance in the first half made way for another freshman quarterback Denard Robinson. He was able to quickly respond and went 2 for 3. Many have labeled Robinson, native of Deerfield, Fla, as a pure running quarterback. However Robinson threw a 3 yard pass to Kelvin Grady, redshirt freshman receiver, and a 31 yard pass to Koger. The drive was capped by a run down the middle by Brandon Minor, senior tailback, who scored on the game. The touchdown gave Michigan a 21-20 lead.

However the heroics of Robinson only went so far. Two Michigan drivers later Jammie Kirlew, defensive end for the Hoosiers, was able to force a fumble and returned it seven yards. Indiana scored on a field goal of 30 yards to take a 23-21 lead at halftime.

David Moosman, a fifth year senior who was filling in for injured center David Molk, tried catching a defensive lineman for Indiana off guard with a quick snap to Forcier. However, the play backfired and resulted in a 22 yard loss and fumble.

On their next drive, starting from their 17 yard line, Indiana moved quickly. J.T. Floyd was flagged for a questionable penalty for pass interference on a long pass play to Tandon Doss. The penalty gave Indiana a first down on the 50 yard line. The Wolverine defense was able to hold off another touchdown, but Hoosier kicker Nick Freeland kicked another field field giving Indiana a 26-21 lead.

On Michigan’s next drive Robinson recovered his second fumbled snap of the game. Right after the fumble, Forcier reentered the game. However Michigan went three plays and out.

Just when it looked like the Wolverines wouldn’t be able to get another first down, Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier hit Kelvin Grady, redshirt sophomore, for an 18 yard gain followed by two runs from Brown and Minor to put Michigan on the 12 yard line. Forcier showed his leaping ability as he jumped over a throng of Indiana defenders to score on the goal line.

Michigan went for the two point conversion and Forcier ran up the middle to score and give the Wolverines a lead of 29-26 with 9:15 minutes left to play.

Just as Michigan fans were about to breathe a sigh of relief, 18 seconds later Willis was able to get free and score on an 85 yard touchdown run. It was Indiana’s longest touchdown run since 1997 and the longest running play against Michigan since 1987. The touchdown gave Indiana the lead at 33-29.

The fans got another scare when it appeared that Forcier had injured himself with under six minutes left to play. However the freshman was able to respond with a touchdown scoring pass to Odoms.

Rodriguez said there is no panic. I think the young guys don’t panic as much. The upper classmen might think about what’s going on, but the younger guys just go out and play. Tate was not always sharp but made plays towards the end of the game. We know we are capable of playing better and we will need to next week.

Carlos Brown rushed for 187 yards, a career high, and scored two touchdowns, including one for 90 yards, in Michigan’s 45-17 win over Eastern Michigan.

Denard Robinson took over at quarterback for Michigan after Tate Forcier, fellow freshman, had his wind knocked out. Robinson scored a couple of rushing touchdowns in the win. Michael Shaw rushed for a touchdown as well for the 3-0 Wolverines, who had a total of 380 rushing yards.

Rich Rodriguez, head coach for Michigan, said that they had intended to throw a more often, but didn’t since they didn’t have to. If we are able to run, it gives a little break for the defense. He added that he thought their backs had run very hard, that the up front blocking was good along with the perimeter blocking.

Forcier, who did appear to be fine from the sideline, went 7 for 13 for a total of 68 yards. Michigan’s four game opening home stand continues next week when they play Indiana in their Big Ten opening game.

Andy Schmitt, quarterback for Eastern Michigan, passed for 97 yards and had one interception along with one rushing score before he left the game with an apparent injured knee. The Eagles’ Dwayne Priest rushed for 91 yards and had a touchdown Eastern Michigan previously lost to Northwestern and Army to begin their season.

Early second quarter it was a 10-10 tie game before Michigan scored two touchdowns within two minutes of each other to give themselves breathing room.

A 69 yard, six play drive was capped with Shaw’s five yard run for a touchdown, giving Michigan a lead of 17-10 with 9:20 minutes to play in the first half. Before scoring, Shaw had rushes for seven and twenty two yards. Shaw ended up with nine carries and 53 yards rushing.

Then Eastern Michigan got the ball back, going three and out, pinning the Wolverines on their 10 yard line with a punt. However Brown was able to break free up the middle, brushing aside an arm tackle attempt and scored on a touchdown run of 90 yards, making the score 24-10 with 7:15 to go in the first half.

Eastern Michigan then had yet another unproductive series and the Wolverines took over. However Chris May intercepted the ball, giving the Eagles the ball on Michigan’s 36 yard line. Priest converted the turnover, running six consecutive times before scoring on a five yard run, bringing Eastern Michigan within seven points with only two minutes left in the first half.

At the beginning of the third quarter there was a series of punts that gave Michigan the advantage in field position. On Michigan’s third offensive series in the second half, the Wolverines went on a seven play 60 yard drive and scored. The march was keyed by a Forcier 21 yard run. Shaw also had an 18 yard run before Martavious Owen, Wolverines receiver, ran a 13 yard reverse for a touchdown, giving Michigan a 31-17 lead.

Craig Roh intercepted a Schmitt pass just minutes later and Michigan was able to convert once again with a touchdown. Unfortunately Forcier was forced to leave the game after he was hit hard on the series’ first play. Robinson completed the drive of 21 yards with a touchdown run of 13 yards on the quarterback draw, extending Michigan’s lead to 21 points with just 3:06 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Early fourth quarter Michigan stopped Eastern Michigan on the two yard line. On the Eagles’ next possession Schmitt was injured. Schmitt wasn’t hit, but after he got the snap he ended up fumbling and went down.

Robinson took advantage of the turnover, scoring on a touchdown run of 36 yards during the middle of the fourth quarter for the final score of the game.

Ron English, head coach for Eastern Michigan, said that he thought that they got themselves in a situation where they had to throw more after falling behind, which took us away from our running game. We felt like we had to catch up, which mean we ended up throwing more than we really wanted to.

Michigan out gained Eastern Michigan 448 to 285. Robinson went 0 for 4 passing and had two interceptions but did rush for 60 yards.

Rodriguez said that during the second half we were able to get their offense off of the field and put a couple more possessions together. The win was good but there lots of teachable moments for us to learn from.

The Wolverines were able to take advantage of an Eastern Michigan short punt scoring on their first offensive series. A rush for 30 yards from Brown helped to set up Jason Olesnavage’s field goal from 37 yards to give the Wolverines a 3-0 lead.

Eastern Michigan was able to answer with a Joe Carithers field goal from 43 yards, tying the game. However the Wolverines responded with a drive of 60 yards that ended in a touchdown score. Brown along with Brandon Minor had seven carries combined on the drive of nine plays. Brown scored from nine yards out, making the score 10 to 3 with 2:30 left in the first period.

The Eagles countered with an 11 play 79 yard drive to tie the game again. A 13 run from Alex Gillett on 3rd down and 6 helped to keep the drive alive. Schmitt had a 24 yard run and then scored on a scramble of 11 yards to the right early in the second quarter.

English, who is a former defensive coordinator for Michigan, said we expect to win. People may not believe that, but we really do go in expecting to win each game.

Game Notes

Brown recorded the fourth 100 yard game of his career and beat his previous 132 yard career best which he set on October 7, 2007 playing against Minnesota. The 90 yard run from Brown was the the third longest running touchdown in the school’s history. Butch Woolfolk holds the record at 92 yards, set in 1979 against Wisconsin. Schmitt ended up with 26 rushing yards and went 13 for 22 in the loss. Michigan ran its record to 9-0 all time versus Eastern Michigan.

Jonas Mouton, starting linebacker for Michigan, will not face being suspended or any other type of punishment for throwing a punch during the game versus Notre Dame last Saturday.

Mouton punched Eric Olsen, center for the Fighting Irish, on a running play in the second quarter of the game won by Michigan 38-34. There was no penalty called on the play.

Before Wednesday’s practice reporters asked Rich Rodriguez, head coach for the Wolverines, about the incident.

Rodriguez responded with what are you guys talking about. He said he saw on film one incident but didn’t see anyone throwing punches. He added, on the clip I saw some guys got all tangled up and Jonas was trying to free himself. There were plenty of officials and they would have called a penalty if they saw something.

Rodriguez also stated that there wouldn’t be any disciplinary action taken against Mouton.

A review of the video does show Mouton throwing a fast punch, but it is the type of thing that probably does happen quite a bit during games that doesn’t get on tape.

Because it happens so fast officials probably miss it. If they had seen the punch, Mouton would almost certainly have been given a penalty, and then the options for Rodriguez would probably be different.

Charlie Weis, head coach for Notre Dame referred to Sunday’s incident indirectly when he discussed contacting the office for the Big Ten about personal fouls involving face punches after plays.

With just 11 seconds to play in the game, Tate Forcier connected with Greg Matthews for a 5 yard touchdown, capping a Michigan comeback drive which gave the Wolverine an exciting 38-34 victory over the 18th ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Fighting Irish had come from behind on an Armando Allen touchdown run and two point conversion, erasing an 11 point deficit and taking a 34-31 lead in the game with just 5:14 minutes to play. However Michigan (2-0) then got the ball with a little over two minutes left in the game and drove down field for the winning touchdown thanks to their freshman quarterback Forcier, who finished the game 23 for 33 with 240 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

In addition, Forcier ran the ball 13 times for 70 rushing yards and a score for Michigan. Brandon Minor had 106 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

The Wolverines withstood a formidable aerial game from Notre Dame (1-1) to win the game. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame’s quarterback, completed 25 of his 42 passes for a total of 336 yards, three scores and no interceptions.

Receiver Michael Floyd had seven catches for 131 yards as well as a score, but had to leave the game mid fourth quarter on an apparent injury. Golden Tate had nine catches for 115 total yards as well as two scores.

Rich Rodriguez, head coach for Michigan, stated that he had been in a few games like that before and you could almost sense that it would come down to the very last play and that’s what happened. We never could get comfortable in that game because Notre Dame was moving the ball.

The defense of Notre Dame, which was able to shut Nevada out last week, wasn’t able to hold down the Wolverine offense, especially during the last two minutes of the game.

The Fighting Irish sacked Forcier during the final drive, which forced Michigan to take a timeout with just 1:17 minutes to play on a 2nd down and -15.

Forcier, however, was able to complete two passes in a row to Martavious Odoms for eleven and then eight yards. This set up a Michigan first down at Notre Dame’s 28 with just 44 seconds left. Another timeout and few players later, Forcier connected with LaTerryal Savoy on a 17 yard pass down the left sideline. Savoy went out of bounds on the five yard line and the clock stopped at 22 seconds.

On the very next play it looked like Forcier had the touchdown, when he spotted a free Savoy in the left corner of the zone. Savoy, however, wasn’t able to hold onto the ball. On 2nd and goal, after stepping back to his left, Forcier connected with Matthews right in front of Michigan’s goal line. Matthews stretched out to his right and made the catch stepping inside the end zone for a touchdown, giving Michigan a 38-34 lead over the Irish.

Rodriquez said that Forcier was a unique individual. Everything around him can be going crazy, but he is always calm right in the center of a storm. There are guys that have that quality and Tate is one of them.

After the kickoff, time ran out and Michigan won the game.

Michigan’s last minute victory only came after the Fighting Irish had erased a deficit earlier in the quarter. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Wolverines were faced with 4th down and -3 at Notre Dame’s 31 yard line and went for it. Forcier made the risk pay off when he ran up the middle and into the end zone, giving Michigan a 31-20 lead.

However, Notre Dame scored with 9:46 left in the game. Clausen connected with Tate on a 21 yard touchdown pass. They failed on a two point conversion, which left the score at 31-26. During the next drive, the Fighting Irish received a big break when a pass from Forcier went right into the hands of Kyle McCarthy right over midfield when the intended receiver failed to make his cut left. McCarthy returned the ball to the Michigan 36 yard line.

Notre Dame reached the end zone using their ground game. On the drive’s final two plays, Allen carried the football, running for nine yards on 3rd down and -2 and then dashing for the final eight yards for a touchdown.

Notre Dame went for the two point conversion and scored, with Clausen making a nice hand off behind his back to Allen, making the score 34-31 with just 5:13 minutes remaining in the game.

Charlie Weis, Notre Dame’s head coach, said that were were lots of opportunities to win the game on special teams, defense and offense. He said they couldn’t pout and say that they should have won it. On offense and defense we had the chance to close it.

Michigan scored first on Minor’s two yard touchdown run with 4:12 minutes remaining in the first quarter. On the prior play he had a 22 yard run which set the touchdown up.

Notre Dame got on the scoreboard with a 34 yard field goal from Nick Tausch with 46 left in the first quarter. A 94 yard kickoff return from Darryl Stonum pushed Michigan’s lead back up to 14-3. On their next drive of 76 yards, the Fighting Irish made it into the end zone, capped off with a four yard touchdown pass from Clausen to Tate.

After a punt from Michigan, Notre Dame was able to score again, when Clausen connected on an 11 yard pass to Floyd, midway through the second quarter. Tausch kicked a 42 yard field goal with 2:41 minutes left to play in the first half, and then Jason Olesnavage hit a 39 yard field goal for the final play to shave Notre Dame’s lead to 20-17 at half time.

On their first drive of the third quarter, Michigan failed to score despite making it all the way to Notre Dame’s one yard line. On the next possession for Notre Dame, Jonas Gray fumbled on a hand off. Michigan recovered the fall at the Irish 26 yard line.

The Wolverines were able to cash in on the opportunity. Forcier, on a 3rd and goal play, rolled left and connected on a touchdown pass from 3 yards out to Kevin Koger, tight end, with just 7:55 minutes left in the game to give Michigan a lead of 24-20.

Game Notes

Allen finished the game with 21 carries and 139 yards rushing for Notre Dame. In their all time series against Notre Dame, Michigan has a 21-15-1 advantage. During the last five out of six games at Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines have won. Last year the Irish won the match up with a 35-17 home victory. David Moosman, offensive lineman for Michigan, appeared to injure his left wrist on the play where McCarthy intercepted the ball in the fourth quarter.

Across the nation game day visits for recruits are becoming events that are primarily geared towards junior prospects and senior class committed prospects, since most large university college commitments occur before fall. This is the situation at Michigan where the 2010 class has 18 prospects that already have pledged for Rich Rodriguez and his coaching staff.

On Saturday Michigan hosted their opening game for the season, beating Mid American Conference rival Western Michigan 31-7. Over 50 recruits sat in the stands, most of them from the 2011 class, watching the Wolverines’ victory.

Institutions that are NCAA members were last week first allowed to start sending out official scholarship offers to 2011 class prospects. Five of the juniors who received Michigan offers last week attended the game on Saturday. Among those in attendance were cornerback Greg Brown from Fremont, Ohio, who made his commitment immediately to Michigan upon receiving his offer, and cornerback Doran Grant of St. Vincent St Mary in Akron, Ohio.

Grant said that they overall looked like a much better team and that he thought they had done a good job in coming back after last season. Last week Grant had offers from places like Notre Dame, Georgia and Ohio State. He added that it seemed that early on their rhythm clicked on offense and that the defense had made some very good stops. I liked how their defense moved and were always in good position, he said.

Some of the leading juniors who are from Michigan and attended the game on Saturday included Delonte Hollowell, cornerback from Cass Tech, Ryan Griffin, defensive back from Ann Arbor Pioneer, Justice Hayes, running back from Grand Blanc, and Anthony Zettel, offensive lineman from Ogemaw Heights. The most notable uncommitted at the game on Saturday from the 2010 class was Dior Mathis, cornerback from Cass Tech. Mathis was accompanied by his parents, several teammates and his head coach. The 175 pound 5’9″ Mathis is rated as a four star player by Rivals.com and Michigan has sent him an offer.

Mathis said they loved the visit experience and he loved both the defense and offense. He added that he had paid close attention to how the defense played the corners. They made plays, were coming up and made tackles and got interceptions.

Other in-state 2010 class members that attended Saturday’s game included brothers Nathan and Daniel Lindsey from Inkster, Garret Davis, the offensive guard from Ypsilanti Willow Run, Baquer Sayed, wide receiver from Dearborn Fordson, Mason Krysinski, kicker from Utica Eisenhower, Matt Rea, linebacker from Rochester Adams, Chris Robinson, running back from Ovid-Elsie, and Taurean Jackson, quarterback from Lansing Sexton.

Several of the 2010 class commitments for Michigan also were at the game to watch their future team. Devin Gardner, quarterback from Inkster, Austin White, running back from Livonia Stevenson, Ricardo Miller, wide receiver from Ann Arbor Pioneer, Courtney Avery, cornerback from Lexington, Ohio, Ken Wilkins, linebacker from Washington, PA and Jeremy Jackson, wide receiver from Ann Arbor Huron were all at the game on Saturday.

If there were any questions concerning whether or not Michigan could put all of their recent off field issues aside and answer the opening bell against a seemingly feisty Western Michigan football team, the uncertainties were all cleared up during the first thirty minutes of the game on Saturday in Ann Arbor.

However, it wasn’t those issues that motivated the team according to Rich Rodriguez, Michigan’s head coach. Rodriguez said their motivation came from all the team had heard over the course of the last nine months as well as the pressure coming from last year’s disastrous season.

Michigan’s defense got off to a roaring start, silencing all the critics early on by forcing Tim Hiller, Bronco quarterback, into a three and out situation during Western Michigan’s first possession. This set the tone for the entire first half, with the Wolverines leading 31-0 at halftime and giving the team their first win on opening day since 2006 when they beat Vanderbilt.

Tate Forcier made his first college start and was more than impressive for the more than 109,000 fans in attendance, as he lead Michigan down the field on a 52 yard touchdown drive in seven plays, capped by a 28 yard pass to Junior Hemingway. The impressive and successful drive seemed to give Forcier all the keys he needed for running the offense. Tate started all except for one of the drives during the first half.

Denard Robinson, who is another one of Michigan’s standout freshmen, was able to show off his excellent speed and talent during one of the next possessions for Michigan. Lining up at quarterback, Robinson mishandled the snap before reversing his field causing a few defenders to miss him, and then proceeded to out run the remaining defenders for Western Michigan for a 43 yard running touchdown on what was only his second college career touch.

Forcier once again got Michigan on the score board during the second quarter. After Forcier broke to his left, Kevin Koger, tight end, was able to break wide open and Forcier hit him in the end zone to give Michigan a 21-0 lead. Later on during the second quarter, Forcier capped his debut off with a perfect 44 yard touchdown strike that hit Junior Hemingway right in the arms as he strode down the sideline. After that the score continued to stand at 31-0 with all of last season’s miserable memories finally starting to fade and sail away from Michigan Stadium.

Michigan’s defense played a huge role in the win on Saturday, by continuously shutting Michigan’s star quarterback Tim Hiller along with Brandon West, their leading running back, down before they were ever able to get going. The defense really set the tone early on and held the Broncos offense to less than 30 yards of total offense in the first quarter. The Wolverines’ defense was able to force six three and outs in a row during Western Michigan’s first six possessions. Finally the Broncos put a steady drive together right at the end of the first half. The half ended with a missed 44 yard field goal attempt that sailed off to the left.

Another big key for the Wolverines was winning the turnover battle. Michigan’s offense was able to keep control of the ball and also took advantage and were able to score when they got it. For an offense that last season averaged 20 points a game, they came out flying with 31 points scored in the first half.

Watching the foot game live and then reviewing the stats from the game’s score sheet, it was clear that the Michigan offense in today’s game looked better than at any time during last season. This is something all Michigan fans can smile about.

The defense turned Western Michigan’s lights out, with a lot of credit going to the new schemes put in place by Greg Robinson, Michigan’s defensive coordinator, which held the high powered offense of Western Michigan to only seven points. The only score for Western came on a 73 yard touchdown pass from Hiller to Juan Nunez early on in the fourth quarter.

Even with all the positives from Saturday’s game, there are always things that can be improved. Michigan did commit quite a number of penalties, with a handful of them for offensive holding. Although it didn’t really affect the team much during this week’s game, it could end up being a problem against a team with more talent later on in the season, so Rodriguez will need to work on getting that settled.

One other positive for Michigan is they are 1-0. It’s hard to believe, but it has been three years since Michigan has been 1-0. Next week Michigan continues on the redemption road where they will take on the hated and feisty Notre Dame football team which spanked the Wolverines last year in South Bend 35-17.

Following the game as the Wolverine players passed by the student section, they were met with an echoing chant of “Beat The Irish.”

Currently the Fighting Irish are ranked Number 23 in the nation. On Saturday afternoon they beat Nevada 35-0 in South Bend. Michigan looks to shut Jimmy Clausen and crew down and pull a big upset off in next Saturday’s game in The Big House.